The one thing you should do this spring to get healthy

Have you ever wondered what the best, simplest thing for getting healthy would be?
Look no further, you’ll know about it once you’ve read this article. A lot of patients we see are always on the lookout for new ways to feel great, lose weight, decrease their use of medications and live a healthier lifestyle – especially after experiencing something like an ankle injury or a knee injury that puts them out from activity for a while, or from experiencing back pain that’s affected them for days, weeks or months. But when it comes to health, many of people try to complicate things.

We think about what foods we should fill our shopping carts with, what exercise routines we should do, what the best green superfood juice is, but that’s the hard approach. I know as humans we want results fast, but that’s often the primary reason why we give up on our new habits after a matter of weeks. When it comes to your health, as with everything else in your life, the key is to be consistent. For example, you’ve probably read about how most New Year’s resolutions get dropped within the first few weeks of a new year – there’s no point in having a New Year’s resolution and start a rigorous exercise and diet plan, only to stop doing it a few weeks later… Slow and steady progress will make you healthy (and happier) – wanting the quick route only makes it harder. So, let’s take a look at… getting healthy the easy way.

The easy approach is much different – you take a habit, or a behaviour you want to put into action, and make it so small you can’t give it up. A popular example is eating less processed sugar – a lot of people want to incorporate this habit into their daily life but brush it to the side after a week or two. Why? Simply because it’s tough, and they make the habit too big. They throw out all the sugar in the house, and banish it completely. But a ‘better’ approach that works for most people is to begin slowly, by cutting certain processed foods out one at a time then the habit is so tiny you simply can’t give it up. From there you increase the habit, and you also don’t drink fizzy drinks, then you keep going and you don’t add sugar to your tea or coffee, and before you know it, you’ve cut your sugar intake dramatically!

Although it won’t work for everybody, it’s a great tactic that works for many people. Anyways, this article isn’t about sugar and reducing your intake. It is about another easier and way, way more effective habit that has multiple positive effects attached to it. Can you take a guess at what it is? Maybe it’s exercise? Or eating more vegetables? Nope, these are too hard for the beginning. It is really, really easy and really, really simple. It’s walking…

Getting healthy is all about the small things you do every day. The small things that don’t require much work, but add up over time, and walking can be a huge contributor to that – walking is like exercise, it just doesn’t feel like it. Here’s the definition of ‘walking’: ‘To advance to travel on foot at a moderated speed or pace.’ That doesn’t sound too hard does it”? Moderate is always good, right? The best part of walking is that you are already doing it. Probably every day! You walk to your car, you walk at home, you walk around the grocery store, you walk around your work place – walking is already a habit, you just need to increase the amount of it you do. Slowly…

Before we start talking about how to make this something you will start doing let’s talk a little bit about the benefits of walking, short and simple… Walking Gets You Moving …and everybody knows how important this is. We spend an average of 9.3 hours a day sitting which isn’t good for our bodies! When you are walking, you are not sitting, which is a good thing for getting healthy. Your muscles get Used. Using your muscles will keep your body moving – if you live a sedentary lifestyle, chances are you’re increasing your risk of suffering from something like a bad back, and a weak body – which is only a good thing. Getting fresh air will make you feel more relaxed and less stressed, while getting into the sun will increase your vitamin D production which improves your sleep – helping you to feel fresh each day.
Walking has many, many, many positive effects, but you’ll have to find out the rest yourself.

Anyways, since I want you to begin this habit as soon as possible, here are a few ideas to get you started… Start Slow.

Don’t think a 5-minute walk is a waste of time, it’s not! Begin with 5 minutes and if you enjoy it, increase it next time to 10! Use your legs more. If you drive to work, park your car further away and walk the rest. Even better, if your workplace is close, ditch the car altogether. ON the weekend, take a longer walk, meet up with a friend and walk to a nearby café or park. When you’re on holiday, don’t take a taxi or the public transport all the time. Walk through the city and talk to locals. This way you’ll discover more places you wouldn’t have seen otherwise and make the most of it. These are just a few ways you can start to incorporate walking more into your daily life.

Walking is really easy. Finding an excuse for jogging is rather simple (not a lot of us like jogging), but finding an excuse for taking a short walk is almost impossible. Take a five-minute walk every day for a week and see how you feel afterwards. Increase it five minutes each week. There are many great places to walk around Whitehorse such as the Millennium Trail, the trails throughout Grey Mountain and behind Riverdale and if it is icy and slippery out; The walking track and the CGC. It’s a great way to start